A study confirms the long-lasting effects of botox and hyaluronic acid on wrinkles. And long live the youth!
A team of researchers from Samsun University in Turkey observed more visible and long-lasting wrinkle filling by combining two well-known cosmetic products, Botulinum toxin, known as Botox, and Hyaluronic Acid.
Both cosmetics are already well known for treating wrinkle fillers. Hyaluronic acid, present naturally in our body and the skin, degrades over time – particularly with age – and its benefits are therefore not lasting due to the contraction of the muscles near the treated area. As for botulinum toxin, it is used in local injections at low doses to cause targeted muscle paralysis to temporarily reduce wrinkles (for five to six months).
It was the rabbits who played the guinea pigs.
Researchers at Samsun University in Turkey found that combining botulinum toxin with hyaluronic acid provided more visible and long-lasting results in patients by significantly reducing the process of hyaluronic acid breakdown.
Dr. Küçüker and his colleagues injected rabbits with a small amount of hyaluronic acid under the skin at the front of each ear. This area was chosen because it is very close to the forehead area in humans. One ear received an injection of hyaluronic acid alone, the other combining hyaluronic acid and botulinum toxin.
Visible and durable
After 3 months, via an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), the researchers showed that the toxin made it possible to slow down the filler material’s degradation and reduce the degradation of hyaluronic acid by 42%. Moreover, the volume of hyaluronic acid is increased by 50% on the side where the botulinum toxin was used, and the difference is visible and measurable.
This work, published in the medical journal of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, therefore, suggests that the combination of these two substances, whose action paralyzes the muscles in the treated area for a few months, can significantly improve the clinical results of the injection of filling.
Only a doctor specializing in plastic surgery, dermatology, face and neck surgery, and maxillofacial surgery and trained in the technique can perform the injections.
